Time gains momentum, as we head towards New Zealand in a couple of days. We left Sarina to headed towards Airlie Beach.
The night before we left our lovely neighbours who have been so warm to us,
Noola and Steve invited us to their upstairs veranda for drinks, they viewed the ocean and I can see how Steve has seen Whales as they migrate south as they really did have a splendid spot to view them, Steve had a bar on his veranda and armchairs; a living room outside.

Sad to say goodbye to them as they were good company and we got on well, Noola gave me a gift of a tea towel depicting the sugar region, which I found so thoughtful.

The journey to Airlie was a bit fraught with road works and our small economy car was dwarfed by the giant trucks on the road, I’ve never seen so many scarey beasts.

As we approached Airlie Beach I took out the document for where we were staying to find we weren’t staying in Airlie at all, oops……… which was odd as i was so sure we were!! In fact we were at Shute Harbour about 15 minutes and a few coves away and a drive up and through the rainforest…………& #8230;.Airlie is a backpacker destination, so has all the bars and things you’d expect but it was pretty with a lagoon and I would have been happy there, but finding our real destination was such a bonus big time, the Coral Point Lodge had the best view of the Whitsundays, as it covered many more than you could have seen from Airlie.



Our balcony overlooked the boats all coming and going and, the pool overlooking the island was delightful.









The Whitsundays were much closer than I had imagine and two uninhabited islands were very close to us, we could see the corals as the tide became lower surrounding the islands.



The next day we had the boat trip booked, the waters were blue that I had not encountered before and I had thought Sarina’s seas were blue, these were turquoise and so clear


So 2 days at the Whitsundays and the corals, and turquoise waters, and we were off on our long car journey to Etty Bay……………& #8230;we left Shute at 5.30 in the morning, and hoped to make good time but the Bruce Highway is strewn with road works, in fact the road is quite scarey as its single lane and the huge trucks thunder pass on the other side of the road………….but the journey was interesting as its amazing how far the sugar cane fields go up to and still those little trains, and harvest continues, and you get the odd whiff of sweet sugary air as you pass the
harvesters.

We stopped off at Townsville and had a walk along The Strand which is a super esplanade backed by some classic old buildings, and views out to Magnetic Island. Great to be out of the car and cool down ! Wondered where exactly Don and Maz had lived many moons ago and
turns out it was the Strand!







Hot and sticky driving eventually after 7 hours from Shute we arrived at Etty Bay.



Etty Bay is about an hour and half south of Cairns we are told.



Etty Bay was off the main highway and down through a small lane for a few miles, we encounter our first sighting of a Cassowary, this area is the Cassowary Coast, and endangered species that seem to thrive better here and is revered and protected………….h e was right in the middle of the road……….huge prehistoric claws, rather like an ostrich.


Etty Bay is delightful, a small Bay backed with rainforest that dips into the sea. We rented a cabin,
ours was called Seaview, and was 20 footsteps to the beach from our small wooden veranda.



The camp site was small, and friendly, with a little kitchen that served food, as per usual the seafood was worth trying, so our first night was a bucket of seafood for one which was plenty for 2 of us, on the veranda with the sea washing up closer as we ate.



I’ve tried to vary our accommodation and we really liked this campsite idea, as in our cabin we could self cater.

Folk stop and chat, its great to hear other traveller’s tales and get to think of more places to visit…..i just need to live a long
time….Pleeeze!!

We keep meeting silver surfers like us that are on much longer “ old age gap year” journeys, one couple we chatted to at Etty Bay had done one year and had four to go!!

The Cassowaries have been around all the time, they just appear from the rainforest, they amble gently along the beach and throughout the campsite in a seemingly sweet natured way, but if they have babies or are threatened they can be very dangerous and with their feet and claws they have
been known to attack and having seen the size of the feet and claws plus that beak(!), I can see how they easily would rip into any idiot that would threaten them………..a special treat to see them so often though and yes after the magpie attack I kept my distance and gave tom the camera!!!!









Another treat has been a huge grey speckled lizard, they wander around here also. Plus the many colourful birds I wish I knew the names
of…………….. we get told but we forget…………




Etty Bay will remain as one of the best secret places to find out about, so many people said you’re English how did you find out about this place? A Gem !




Left Etty wishing we had booked a week here but onwards and upwards…………R 30;..so off initially early to Paronella Park which was a short drive away for a few hours discovering the joys of this “one mans dream “…………R 30;..


a Spaniard who came over in the early 1900’s and worked his way up to having a “few bob” thru hard endeavours and some lucky investments………… went back to Spain ,


Brought back a wife and set upon building her a castle………..the castles remains and the
beautiful surrounds, some derelict told a tale of a mans life from start to end and the lifestyle that went along with Paronella Park, ………….the guide filled us in as we wandered around with her…………. It was well worth the money and the time spent.













Glad we did that as the rest of the day was in a hot car heading to Cairns…………̷ 0;.however
the landscape was changing, and the journey was interesting.



Cairns was very hot and heavy traffic jams, we got lost, made me a tad grumpy! It seemed very commercial, very busy, and American, and just too busy for me. Got to where we were staying and it wasn’t good, but hey ho it was for one night.



Next day flying to New Zealand.Our Queensland stay has been super doooooper, lovely folk at Sarina, and Etty Bay a gem!